n00b wants to start doing own work on car

Hades

Hades

Hades

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Righto, as you may have seen by a recent post "spec me a 3.5k weekend car", I'm considering buying an older car for fun at the weekends. The issue I'm struggling with is not the purchase cost but the the ongoing maintenance. I'm a little concerned that I won't be able to keep a high mileage car on the road without offering sexual favours to my local garage. Quite frankly, despite being 40 and having renovated a couple of houses, when it comes to cars I don't know one end of a spanner from the other. But that's simply through lack of trying, current lack of tools, and lack of confidence. In days-of-old I had the money to simply pay someone to do it. With a wife, kids and a mortgage that would scare Alistare Darling's economic bailout committee, that's no longer an option.

So... realistically, do I stand a cat in hells chance of being able to learn this kind of stuff myself and maintain an old car on a budget? I am lucky that I will have a reliable main car so screwing up won't mean I am without a car. I'm also lucky in that I have oodles of off road parking and even a nice double garage with power and lighting.

The kind of stuff I'm thinking here is:

General servicing
Brake pads, etc
Possible radiator change (may need doing on a car I'm considering)
Head gasket (I've read this is not a DIY job but my dad used to do it 100 years ago?????)

I'm guessing you'll all laugh at the simplicity of the brake pads and general servicing and tell me not to go near the rest. But I'm willing to learn, take my time, and would then even be able to start doing things on my main car if necessary (it would be great to no longer be reliant on garages for simple tasks).

Also, what are the kind of tools I'd need. Or probably more of interest would be a general budget for a basic tool set, jack, etc.

Would it be a wise investment to get myself on an evening course or would a decent Haynes manual and a bit of practice be sufficient?

/stands back and waits to get laughed at... but what the hell, may as well ask the question.
 
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Get yourself a halfords pro tool set (one of the larger ones) and a few more choice tools (trolly jack, axel stands etc), then just get specialists tools as and when needed not using it as your main car you can afford such things :), then join up to the forums that specialise in your choice of car and do lots of reading, most have technical sections.
Nothing cannot be solved without a bit of patience and learning even things like head gaskets :)
 
Thanks. Halfords Pro toolset noted :)

I've recently had a bit of an epiphany thinking "why am I so reliant on other people for cars" and "why don't I buy an older, better, car rather than something new simply because it scares me". I have quite a complex job which requires a lot of logical thinking and problem solving (although not physical) and it just bemuses me why I've never applied that progressive logical thinking to anything mechanical.
 
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A Haynes manual will give you an idea but I've found getting a mate to help out or asking for tips on owners forums are far more useful in the long run.

Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

When I got my first car at 18, I had absolutely no clue... I couldn't even remove a wheel! :D

Just from jumping in and having a go I've rebuilt a few gearboxes, swapped turbochargers and full exhaust systems, changed suspension and brakes, removed and refit engines and I'm currently in the middle of a cylinder head rebuild. I'm even having a go at writing an ECU map... something I never thought I'd have the knowledge to tackle.

Obviously it helps if you don't have to depend on the car as a daily driver but I found the best way to learn way is to get stuck in. It's great fun!
 
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A quick look and it seems that I can probably get a fairly good starter setup for around £150... toolkit, trolley jack and axle stands... then allow another £50 to £100 for more specialist stuff as I need it. That all seems reasonable.

Thanks for the help :)
 
You want a decent socket set (1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" should do) with 6 sided sockets, should help against rounding any bolts off. Get a decent collection of shallow and deep sockets for those hard to reach places and varying lengths of extension bar.

Decent ring and offset ring spanners are a must too. Ratchet spanners are handy, as are flare nut spanners.

The Halfords trolley jack and axle stands are pretty good. My car has been supported on Halfords stands for about 2 months and despite some pretty powerful winds is still standing.
 
Are those in the Halfords set or are they in addition?

The final piece of the jigsaw is persuading the wife to leave the (expensive) wooden garden furniture outside in winter so I can get a second car in the garage :)
 
I buy mainly from Halfords and Machine Mart.

I think the Halfords Pro set for £100 should give you most of the sockets and some spanners. Flare nut spanners and offset ring spanners will be seperate.

Oh, a breaker bar is essential too!
 
"Hi, I'd like this 15mm socket please"

"No problems sir, that'll be £29.99"

:eek:

Ok, so that might be a bit of an exaggeration but still :D
 
agw_01 said:
Flare nut spanners and offset ring spanners will be seperate.

Oh, a breaker bar is essential too!
Click to expand...

This is the problem. I actually don't understand a word of that :confused:

:D

agw_01 - my brother is amazing with cars and is mostly self taught. He does the same. He strips engines down on his driveway, etc. Sadly he lives around 200 miles away. But yes, you're right. Just getting stuck in is the key. Although mechanical stuff has (so far) not been "great fun" for me. But that's why I asked the question really. You'll all probably soon get inundated with questions from me about stuff that you learned at 20yrs. I deal with some very complex stuff at work. I work under immense pressure. Yet I'm scared to lift a spanner and I don't see why I should be. It can't be THAT hard???

(prediction: in about one months time I'll be posting "omg it really is THAT hard!!! :D)
 
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:D

The solution to that is to go to Halfords and have a look around.

Oh, and think of the phrase "a bad workman always blames his tools". It's absolute rubbish. It's always the car, ALWAYS!
 
agw_01 said:
:D

The solution to that is to go to Halfords and have a look around.

Oh, and think of the phrase "a bad workman always blames his tools". It's absolute rubbish. It's always the car, ALWAYS!
Click to expand...

Especially when it may be a 15 year old Corrado VR6 with 170k on the clock :eek:
 
I'll add that I don't find old cars fun to work on as things tend to be rusted up and bolts snap. Generally most things aren't that hard as long as you've some rough instructions, eg a Haynes manual and can think logically.

As for tools the halford sets are good value, add a couple of torque wrenches, stands and a trolley jack and you'll have a decent basic set. Other tools can be added as you need them.
 
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